TMC leader accuses BJP of "unleashed violence"; targets judiciary

Kolkata: Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) politician Abhishek Banerjee targeted the judiciary on Friday, alleging that the BJP "unleashed violence" in the West Bengal panchayat elections because it felt "emboldened."

Banerjee said, “The BJP has been trying to demolish independent judiciary and media – the third and fourth pillars of democracy – ever since they came to power [at the Centre]. We haven’t seen this in the judiciary ever since Independence”

Banerjee, the second-in-command of the ruling party, met with those injured in election-related violence before speaking to the media outside of SSKM Hospital in Kolkata, Indian Express reported.

He named a judge and said, “Some may object to my words saying this is contempt of court. But if someone wants to take action against me for speaking the truth, they can do so.”

The judiciary, he alleged, had “tied the hands of the police and the administration… This is why today our [TMC] workers are injured and there is a threat to the safety of women.”

“By speaking of it today, I am drawing the attention of the judges to this matter. If the state administration fails to take action against the miscreants, only then can the Opposition call for the Chief Minister’s resignation,” said Banerjee.

“The truth is that the state government is not being allowed to function… There is no point in using the Central agencies to execute political vendetta as the results have shown that the TMC has the people’s support. I pointed out that the TMC’s vote share would increase from 48 per cent. Today, it has increased to 52 per cent. Meanwhile, the BJP’s vote share has decreased from 38 per cent to 22 per cent. On the day of the [panchayat] polls, incidents of violence took place in 60-62 booths but these were used to defame the entire state,” he claimed.